The Return of Sherlock Holmes: a casebook of the cunning, malicious, and loving
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (318 pages)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes follows the case book of Sherlock Holmes as narrated by his companion, Dr. John Watson. Before getting too far into the work, I will briefly introduce the whole collection. There are 13 total stories of Sherlock Holmes. I will not attempt to describe the chronology of the books for there are many other better-written articles on that subject, but I will largely say that the order in which you read them does not matter. This was the first Sherlock Holmes that I read although I would suggest you read the case of the “The Final Problem” first, which is typically found in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes before the Return of Sherlock Holmes. This tale, just like all the other tales of his adventures, surrounds the incredible mind of Sherlock Holmes and his companion as they tackle case after case, each intriguing, difficult, and largely isolated from each other in the narrative.
As I try to do with any of the books I’ve read that have movies, I will attempt to address the film. In this case, there is not much to address, the Sherlock Holmes film from 2009 and the sequel from 2011, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, follow cases that do not appear in this book. Although I have seen both movies and enjoyed them they are very different from the books in the ways that you might imagine them, namely in the dramatization and length. Many of the cases in this adventure seldom reach 30 pages while the movies are over 2 hours.
The readability of Doyle is quite simply fantastic and I found this book to be an incredibly quick-paced read. Relatively easy sentence structure, few verbose passages, and a plot that lends itself to a devouring reader create an absolute page-turner. Holmes and Doyle's diction is different from our time but I enjoyed the eloquent and diverse vocabulary of the two and found it to add to the intrigue of the work rather than detract from it.
Sherlock Holmes has a surprising amount of themes throughout, as with many of my reviews I will pick two to mention briefly. The first is justice. As a detective and one with the law, justice and the law are constant themes throughout yet Holmes as honorable as he is has two forms of justice: one of the law and one of the heart. I find this very admirable as Holmes does not blindly follow the law when to follow the law would be to potentially create more destruction and sorrow than the initial wrongdoing. Instead in a number of cases, he solves the case and allows justice to proceed in a way to truly end the case with the best terms.
Secondly, dualities and their contrast appear many times in the adventures. The cunning, refined brilliance of Holmes facing off against the bestial gnashing of teeth of the savage criminals. The outstretches of the British empire spawned criminals that come home to London to wreak havoc. These are two simple dualities I found in the novel and there are countless others that appear. These cases of great contrast allow the reader a better view of the morals and conflicts in each case. Lastly, I will leave you with one theme or concept that I think reflects well on the culture of Britain at this point. I will not attempt to say this is my own original thought but rather I found it in the afterward of my edition written by John L. Cobbs. Cobbs states that Holmes had become the Victorian prototype for Superman and everything that the British world looked up to. A man truly worth aspiring to, cunning, observant, refined, able physically, and rational.
I found Doyle’s work to be brilliant. Sometimes these reviews take longer than others or I feel like I am trying to pull things together rather than letting them flow, I believe this to be a barometer of my enjoyment of the work. I found this review to come together pretty rapidly. Holmes is a fascinating character and I really enjoyed the way that Doyle brings the reader along in the character of Dr. Watson. For example, a person will stroll into the room and Holmes will immediately know their occupation, marriage status, and state of mind just by observing them. After the person leaves, he gives Dr. Watson a thorough analysis explaining how he analyzed everything. I found this level of observation fascinating and have tried to bring some of it into my own life, not to the level of Holmes, but rather just being more observant in general and more detail-oriented. Lastly, the cases and mysteries in the work are wholly unique and left me grasping for the conclusion until the last page.
I can highly recommend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s masterpiece to a wide range of readers. It is a very easy read and a great introduction to the Classics. Equal part thriller and romance mixed with a surprising amount of character development given the limited character base in the work. Lastly, the sheer amount of diversity in the activities and outcomes of the cases is remarkable. None of the cases seem formulaic at all. The cunning Sherlock Holmes, matched with the malicious criminal, and a crime often committed to protect or attain the love of the victim. This was my first Sherlock Holmes to read and I can guarantee you it won’t be my last.
As always, my scoring breakdown is below. Thanks for reading!
Score: 7.7- One of my highest scores and I believe rightly deserving, not skewed up by any one metric.
Readability: 8- An incredibly smooth and fast-paced read.
Thematic Questions: 7- A discourse on justice, the many forms of it, and the values of the British world at this time.
Enjoyment: 8- An entertaining read that found me hypothesizing each case from start to finish.
